Artists

Musician of the Month – Laura Beach

Photo credit: Charlie Bellemare

Twin Voices is an indie electro-folk project with roots in the Ottawa Valley and wings in Saskatoon and Montreal. Laura Beach crafts a dark and lovely sound with live looping of violin, voice, synth, percussion and guitar. Her performance is equal parts stunning simplicity and playful complexity.

Classically trained on violin, Laura Beach set aside the instrument to pick up the guitar and began writing beautiful, lyrical folk songs. Then came a series of musical projects – from folk to rock to electropop – and finally, Twin Voices. What began as a return to her roots in acoustic folk music has been transformed by the introduction of live looping, and has morphed into a driving, dynamic sound composed of multi-layered instrumentals and haunting, soaring vocal lines. The BOSS RC-50 is the loopstation Laura used when she first began looping as part of her electropop project Special Agent Cooper, and with ambient improv group Kulvip.

Originally borrowing a friend’s pedal, she fell in love and had to have one of her own. Laura’s RC-50 is a cornerstone of Twin Voices’ signature sound, providing her with the ability to play multiple instruments and craft songs that sound much larger than one musician. The addition of the BOSS VE-20 (vocal performance pedal) and ME-50 (multi-effects pedal) have helped to craft a sound that borders on electronic, vocals that sound like they are soaring through a cathedral and the ability to free-form transition between songs.

“Filling the room with the crafted words of a singer-songwriter, and the folky, swirling sounds of a Cocorosie/Andrew Bird hybrid, the enchantment was entirely palpable… Laura has turned the project into a bewitching display of symmetry and skill.”

– Jae Pyle, Independent Music News

Five Fast Facts About LauraWhat Roland/BOSS gear can you absolutely not live without?

I love my RC-50. It is essentially the basis for what I do – it provides an amazing platform for composition, as well as allowing me to play multiple instruments and loop and layer them during live performances. Most of the songs I’ve written for Twin Voices have started out as simple chord progressions, with a few layers of guitar and violin, which I loop and listen to while walking around the house, doing the dishes, coming up with melodies and lyrics… then I return and add a few more layers.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by the changing of the seasons, by the smell of things thawing and blossoming in the spring, drying up and dying in the fall. I am inspired by people – the way they love, the way they hurt, the way they laugh, the things they do with their lives, the things they consider important, or funny, or terrifying, or beautiful.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three albums would you want to have with you?

Right now I am enamoured with the Swedish electropop artist Jonna Lee (iamamiwhoami). She is expressive, powerful and talented. Her voice is stunning, and her melodies, tone and lyrics are both beautiful and disturbing. Her style follows the same line – extremely elegant/totally haunting. She is utterly awesome.

If you could go to any concert, with any band past or present, who would it be?

I would love to see the Electric Light Orchestra perform Eldorado – in the mid 70’s just after the album was released.

Twin Voices is an indie electro-folk project with roots in the Ottawa Valley and wings in Saskatoon and Montreal. Laura Beach crafts a dark and lovely sound with live looping of violin, voice, synth, percussion and guitar. Her performance is equal parts stunning simplicity and playful complexity.

Classically trained on violin, Laura Beach set aside the instrument to pick up the guitar and began writing beautiful, lyrical folk songs. Then came a series of musical projects – from folk to rock to electropop – and finally, Twin Voices. What began as a return to her roots in acoustic folk music has been transformed by the introduction of live looping, and has morphed into a driving, dynamic sound composed of multi-layered instrumentals and haunting, soaring vocal lines. The BOSS RC-50 is the loopstation Laura used when she first began looping as part of her electropop project Special Agent Cooper, and with ambient improv group Kulvip.

Originally borrowing a friend’s pedal, she fell in love and had to have one of her own. Laura’s RC-50 is a cornerstone of Twin Voices’ signature sound, providing her with the ability to play multiple instruments and craft songs that sound much larger than one musician. The addition of the BOSS VE-20 (vocal performance pedal) and ME-50 (multi-effects pedal) have helped to craft a sound that borders on electronic, vocals that sound like they are soaring through a cathedral and the ability to free-form transition between songs.

“Filling the room with the crafted words of a singer-songwriter, and the folky, swirling sounds of a Cocorosie/Andrew Bird hybrid, the enchantment was entirely palpable… Laura has turned the project into a bewitching display of symmetry and skill.”

– Jae Pyle, Independent Music News

Five Fast Facts About LauraWhat Roland/BOSS gear can you absolutely not live without?

I love my RC-50. It is essentially the basis for what I do – it provides an amazing platform for composition, as well as allowing me to play multiple instruments and loop and layer them during live performances. Most of the songs I’ve written for Twin Voices have started out as simple chord progressions, with a few layers of guitar and violin, which I loop and listen to while walking around the house, doing the dishes, coming up with melodies and lyrics… then I return and add a few more layers.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by the changing of the seasons, by the smell of things thawing and blossoming in the spring, drying up and dying in the fall. I am inspired by people – the way they love, the way they hurt, the way they laugh, the things they do with their lives, the things they consider important, or funny, or terrifying, or beautiful.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three albums would you want to have with you?

Right now I am enamoured with the Swedish electropop artist Jonna Lee (iamamiwhoami). She is expressive, powerful and talented. Her voice is stunning, and her melodies, tone and lyrics are both beautiful and disturbing. Her style follows the same line – extremely elegant/totally haunting. She is utterly awesome.

If you could go to any concert, with any band past or present, who would it be?

I would love to see the Electric Light Orchestra perform Eldorado – in the mid 70’s just after the album was released.